Lock construction



1368- 1940- s. BRANTINGSON LOCK CONSTRUCTION Filed July ,6, 1939INVENTOR 5/6020 fieAmn/vaso/v Y/1% ATTZY Patented Dec. 17, 1940 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE LQCK CONSTRUCTION Sigurd Brantingson, PalisadesPark, N. J., as

signor to Francis Keil & Son, Inc., a corporation ofNew York ApplicationJuly 6, 1939, Serial N6. 282,983

4 Claims.

- tical lock construction of .the bolt type that will be capable offacility of manufacture and ease and speed of assembly. Another objectis to provide a construction of the above-mentioned character in whichassembly may be maintained dependably but in a simple and inexpensivemanner, without detracting from durability and strength of constructionor from dependability of operation. Another object is to provide, in alock construction of the above-mentioned character, an operating leveror cam of simple and dependable construction, capable of low cost ofmanufacture, and ease and high efliciency of assembly to its supportingpart, usually the back plate of the lock construction. Another object isto provide a back plate and cam or lever structure, for locks of theabove-mentioned general character, that will be simple and inexpensiveto fabricate, and easy to assemble to form a sub-assembly of a charactercapable of ease of assembly to the lock construction itself andpreferably in a manner to maintain the sub-assembly intact. Anotherobject is in general to improve upon the construction and to lessen thecost of production of lock construction of the above-mentionedcharacter. Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will beexemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scopeof the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing in which is shown one of the variouspossible embodiments of my invention,

Figure 1 is a rear plan view of a form of lock construction with theback plate and parts related to the latter removed;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view as seen along the line 2-2 ofFigure 1 but showing the back plate and its related part or parts inassembled and operative relation to the bolt and other bolt-operatingmechanism of the lock construction;

Figure 3 is a rear plan view of the sub-assembly of back plate andoperating cam or lever, showing its relationship when ready to beassembled to the structure of Figure 1.; and

Figure 4 is a perspective View on an enlarged scale of the operating camor lever.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawing.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, I have shown at I-B an illustrative,form of easing having suitably supported therein for movement into orout of locked position a suitable formof bolt which,

illustratively, may take the form of a latch bolt; insofar as certainfeatures of my invention are concerned, the casing and bolt constructionmay or slotted as at 14; slot I4 is of suflicient length a so that thebolt head II is in its normal projected position (as shown in Figure 1)when a helical spring l5, having its left-hand end received over aninwardly projecting stud E6 on the bolt head ll and having itsright-hand end abutting against a casing post I1, is allowed sufficientfreedom of action under the control of cams or levers later described.The right-hand end wall l8 of the slot I4 preferably does not, normally,engage the post H, but engagement of parts 18 and ll under somecircumstances may limit the extreme possible action of the spring l5 andlike- Wise. limit the maximum extent to which the spring may project thebolt ll outwardly of the casing [I], particularly during assembly.

' In a direction to the right of the end wall portion ll! of the boltshank 13, the latter is preferably bifurcated as at lB and l3terminating in two cross-bar members l9 and 2B spaced to either side ofthe longitudinal axis of the bolt and each being, in a directiontransversely of the casing and as is better shown in Figure 2, of alength just about equal to the inside dimension of the casing l0 whenits back plate 2! is ultimately assembled in closing position in theotherwise open rear end of the casing Ill.

The cross bars [9-20, which may be integrally formed withthe bolt shankl3, may thus coact with .the front wall [0 and the back plate 2| of thecasing 10 in holding and guiding the bolt in its intended path ofmovement as it is withdrawn into the casing or projected out of it,front wall Ill being provided with suitable spaced ribs 22-23 upon itsinside face and between which the ends of the cross bars l92ll arereceived for guiding coaction therewith, as is clear from Figures 1 and2.

Thereby also the cross bars l920 become mounted and positioned forcoaction with suitable actuating levers or cams which, for purposescross bars |9-20 respectively, the latter being held in engagement withthe former, under normal conditions, under the action of the'spring l5,which thus also, through the balanced action of the two spaced crossbars |920 upon the arms 24 and 24 of the cam holds the latter and theknob 25 in its normal position corresponding to the normal projectedposition of the bolt head Having assembled the knob 25 and cam 24 to thecasing l6, bolt structure |||3 is simply inserted into proper positionand spring |5 interposed as above described, the assemblage thus farbeing now ready to receive the back plate 2| which carries rotatively anoperating lever or cam structure usually intended for quickinterrelationship with the operating bar 28 of a key-controlledmechanism (not shown) of any suitable character.

Back plate 2| is preferably made up in the form of a sheet-metalstamping of suitable configuration and strength, being preferablyshaped, in outline, to be received snugly within the end portions of theside and end walls of casing H], and against suitable shoulders 30(Figures 1 and 2) suitably formed in the casing walls and suitablydistributed thereabout; in this connection the end face of the post I1,the latter being preferably integrally formed with the front wall lllalso acts as such a shoulder, all of the shoulders falling in the planein which it is desired to have the inner face of the back plate 2| fallwhen assembled to the casing, thus to insure proper spacing between backplate 2| and front wall Ill v for sufficient freedom of guiding movementtherebetween of the cross bars |920 as the bolt-structure I ||3 isreciprocated along its line of movement. The post I! is preferablyprovided with a threaded hole 32 with which a slot 2| (Figure 3)registers when the back plate 2| is in closing position and to receive ascrew 33 (Figure 2) to hold the back plate assembled to the casing.

Back plate 2|, in the above-described position of assembly, is providedwith a round hole 34 (Figure 3) whose axis is coincident with the axisof rotation of the cam 24 above described, and hole 34 has an extension35 which is in general of substantially rectangular shape and ispreferably positioned in line with the line of movement of the boltstructure |||3. The arcuate walls of the hole 34 are to form the bearingsurfaces for rotatably supporting the cam or lever structure 36 which isto receive the operating bar 28 for actuation thereby and which coactswith the other structural parts to control the bolt structure l||3.

The cam or lever structure 36 is preferably constructed of suitablyheavy sheet metal and preferably in such a way as to bring about itsquick and easy assembly to the back plate 2| and with respect to theround hole 34; for these purposes the extension 35 (Figure 3) of thehole 34 takes part in certain coactions.

' body portion 42.

The cam structure 36 is better shown in Figure 4, being provided with ahole 31, usually rectangular, to receive freely therein the operatingbar 28 (Figure 2) and adjacent to opposite ends of the hole 31 the sheetmetal of the part 36 is turned upwardly as at 38 and 39, the parts 38and 39 being preferably curved or arcuate with their external faceshaving a radius of curvature slightly less than the radius of curvatureof the walls of the hole 34 so that the former may be received in thelatter for rotary movement of the member 36 relative to the back plate2|. The upper ends of the arcuate bearing portions 38-49 are flangedover as at 40 and 4| at such a point that the spacing between the planeof the under faces of the flanges 404| and the plane of the upper faceof the main body portion 42 of the sheet metal member 36 is slightlygreater in dimension than the thickness of the back plate 2|, as betterappears in Figure 2.

The arcuate extent of the parts 38-40 and 394| is slightly less than thearcuate extent or dimension of the extension 35 (Figure 3) of the hole34, so that either flange 40 or flange 4| may be freely entered into orthrough the hole extension 35, the radii to the outer edges of theflanges 4|) and 4| being less than the radius to the righthand verticalwall or edge, as seen in Figure 3, of the extension or slot 35.

As is better shown in Figures 3 and 4 the flanges 46 and 4| arepreferably juxtaposed to each other and preferably the angular spacingof their respective center lines or middle radii is somewhat less than180; positioned along the line bisecting their angle of spacing is anextension 43 of the main body portion 42 and in the same plane as thelatter. This extension 43, as is better shown in Figure 3, is of anarcuate extent greater than that of the slot extension 35 of the hole 34and in a radial direction is also of greater extent than the slotextension 35. Along the same line, which may be considered thelongitudinal center line of the device 36, but to the other side of themain body portion 42, the latter is extended as at 44 and againpreferably in the plane of the main The extension 44 is, like the cam 24(Figure 1), provided with two arms 44*- and 44 substantially similar tothe arms 24 and 24'. Preferably arms 44 and 44 are displaced from theplane of the main body portion 42 (Figures 2 and 4) and that may beaccomplished by the steps or bends 44 and 44 Cam device 36 and the backplate 2| may now be assembled. First the device 36 is positioned to theunder side of the plate 2| (see Figure '3) but in a position rotatedfrom that indicated in Figure 3. One of the flanges 46 or 4| maynow beentered through the round hole 34 to bring its under face on to theupper face of the back plate 2| at a point approximately opposite theslot extension 35 of the hole, thus bringing the opposite flange 4| or4|] (as the case may be) underneath but in alinement with the slotextension 35, whence it may be entered through the latter to bring itsunder face at or above the plane of the upper face of the back plate 2|.The device 36 is now given a suitable degree of rotation, for example,to the position shown in Figure 3, whence the arcuate portions 38-39 andthe arcuate wall of the hole 34 coact in maintaining the device 36co-axially with the axis of hole 34 during rotary movements, whiledisplacement of the device 36 in the direction of its axis of rotationis prevented because the flanges 4|l4| overlap one face of the backplate 2| and the main body portion 42, or the extensions 43 and 44thereof, or both, overlap the opposite face of the back plate 2|; thisrelationship is maintained as long as the cam device 36 is not swunginto a posi- 5 tion to bring either of the flanges 40-4! intocoincidence with the slot extension 35, but it will be noted that,particularly because of the angular spacing of the parts 4ll4|, as abovedescribed, a very substantial and, for practical purposes, entirelyadequate rotation of the cam device 36 in either direction may takeplace.

The back plate 2| with the cam device 36 thus assembled to it is nowassembled to the rear open end of the casing 50 in the manner abovedescribed, the cam device 36 during the operation of assembly, beingheld or positioned substantially in the relation shown in Figure 3, sothat its arms 4 4 and 44 enter just to the left of the cross bars l920as viewed in Figure l, becoming thereby related to the cross bars inmuch the same way as are the arms 24 and 24 of the cam member 24. Withthe back plate 2| secured in position, as by the screw 33, the structureis ready for installation.

With the assembly thus completed, a rotary movement of the cam member 36into a position such as would bring either of the flanges 46 or 4| intoregistry with the slot extension 35 is reliably precluded. The springI5, acting normally to hold the bolt structure HI3 in projected positionas shown in Figure 1, insures that the cross bars I9 and 23,respectively engaging the arms 44 and 44 of the cam device 36, hold thelatter in theposition shown in Figure 3.

Should the cam 24 be actuated, as by the hand knob 25, so as to withdrawthe bolt head H, the movement of cross bars l920 toward the right, asviewed in Figure 1, is preferably limited, as by stops 45 (Figure 1)formed in the casing ID, to correspond to a position where the bolt headH is just free from any projection out of the casing I; during such anactuation, the key-control mechanism (not shown) to which the operatingbar 28 is connected, holds the latter against rotary 45 movement andthus the cam device 36 continues to be held in the position shown inFigure 3, so

that accidental dis-assembly of it from the back plate 2| cannot takeplace. But even assuming that the cam device 36 were to be free torotate 50 under these circumstances, the rotary movement thereof ineither direction could be no more than is necessary to bring either ofthe arms 44 and 44 into engagement with its corresponding cross bar l9or 20, but that would correspond to the ex- 55 treme rotary movement ofwhich the device 36 is capable under the control of the key mechanismwere the latter to be operated to withdraw the bolt, but that degree ofrotation is again insufflcient to bring either of the flanges 40 or 4|into 0 registry with the slot extension 35. Thus the bolt mechanismitself and coacting parts insure that, by such coactions as those notedabove, accidental dis-assembly of the cam device 36 from the back platecannot take place during handling, installation, or operation of themechanism either by the key-control means or by the hand knob 25. Thedevice 36 furthermore is, in the preferred form, unitary or integralthroughout, and thus has greater strength and security while at the 70same time the operations of assembly to the back plate are very greatlysimplified and cost of production lessened. Also the device 36 and theback plate are easy and inexpensive to fabricate, and both have theadvantage of being capable of fabrication by way of punch-pressoperations.

Thus it will be seen that there has been provided in this invention aconstruction in which the various objects above noted together with manythoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and asmany changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is tobe understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

1. A sub-assembly for a lock construction having a lock casing and amovable bolt therein with cam-engaging means, comprising a plateattachable to said casing to close the latter and an operating cam, saidplate having an aperture providing an arcuate bearing portion and atleast one extension beyond the radius of ourvature of said arcuateportion, said operating cam comprising a sheet-metal stamping having aportion substantially flat engaging the inside face of said plate, saidportion having cam extension means for engagement with said camengagingmeans, said stamping having portions drawn out of the plane thereof andat substantially right angles thereto and forming arcuate flange meansfor rotary bearing contact with said arcuate portion of said apertureand said drawn portions being, at the ends of said arcuate flange meansformed thereby, bent outwardly into substantial parallelism with saidsubstantially flatportion thereby forming flange means overlapping therear face of said plate, said arcuate flange means being of an extentsufficient to space said portion and said second-mentioned flange meansby a distance to accommodate between the latter the thickness of saidplate and said flange means being shaped to pass through said apertureextension upon giving said operating cam a certain rotary positionrelative to said plate.

2. A sub-assembly for a lock having a lock casing and a movable bolttherein, comprising a plate attachable to the casing and a boltoperatingcam, said plate having an aperture providing an arcuate bearing portionand at least one extension beyond the radius of curvature of saidarcuate portion, said operating cam comprising a sheet metal stampinghaving an elongated main body portion to rest against one face of saidplate with two opposed upstanding arcuate flanges at the respectivesides of the longitudinal axis of said elongated main body portion andsaid flanges having externally a radius of curvature substantially thesame as the radius of curvature of said arcuate bearing portion of saidaperture and of an axial extent substantially the same as the thicknessof said plate and having extending laterally and outwardly therefrom andalined transversely of the longitudinal axis of said elongated main bodyportion retaining flanges for overlapping the other face of said plateon opposed sides of said arcuate bearing portion of said aperture, saidupstanding flanges with their respective retaining flanges being formedout of portions of the sheet metal of said stamping that extendrespectively from opposed side edges of said elongated main body portionand on respective sides of said longitudinal axis, said extension ofsaid aperture being dimensioned to permit the passage therethrough of atleast one of said retaining flanges when said cam is swung to bring theone retaining flange into registry with said aperture extension, wherebyassembly or disassembly of said operating cam and plate may be effected.

3. A sub-assembly for a lock having a lock casing and a movable bolttherein, comprising a plate attachable to the casing and a boltoperatingcam, said plate having an aperture providing an arcuate bearing portionand at least one extension beyond the radius of curvature of saidarcuate portion, said operating cam comprising a sheet metal stampinghaving an elongated main body portion to rest against one face of saidplate with two opposed upstanding arcuate flanges having externally aradius of curvature substantially the same as the radius of curvature ofsaid arcuate bearing portion of said aperture and of an axial extentsubstantially the same as the thickness of said plate and havingextending laterally and outwardly therefrom retaining flanges foroverlapping the other face of said plate on opposed sides of saidarcuate bearing portion of said aperture, said extension of saidaperture being dimensioned to permit the passage therethrough of atleast one of said retaining flanges when said cam is swung to bring theone retaining flange into registry with said aperture extension, wherebyassembly or disassembly of said operating cam and plate may be effected,said opposed arcuate flanges being positioned substantially midwaybetween the ends of said elongated main body portion, thereby providingtwo opposed end portions one of which carries bolt-engaging cam meansand both of which are dimensioned so that neither,

t if brought into position to overlap said aperture extension, can passthrough the latter.

4. In a lock construction that has a lock casing and a movable bolttherein with camengaging means, the combination with a plate formingpart of said lock casing and having an aperture for rotatably supportingan operating cam, of an operating cam comprising a flat main bodyportion engaging the inside face of said plate and having spaced fromsaid main body portion by substantially the thickness of said plate twosubstantially diametrically opposed flange portions to rest against theoutside face of said plate and to overlap the latter on opposed sides ofsaid aperture, said two opposed flange portions being joined to saidflat main body portion by two opposed substantially arcuate portionsaccommodated within said aperture for hearing engagement therewith andbeing of an axial extent substantially the same as the thickness of saidplate, said aperture in said plate having an extension of sufiicientextent in. a circumferential direction to accommodate therethrough thecircumferential dimension of one of said flange portions and of a radialextent sumcient to pass said one flange portion therethrough when thearcuate portion of the other flange portion is in bearing engagementwith said aperture and the fit of said bearing engagement beingrelatively loose to permit canting of said operating cam relative tosaid plate when said one flange portion is brought into substantialregistry with said aperture extension and the other flange portion is inengagement with the outside face of said plate and its arcuate portionis in bearing engagement with a portion of said aperture substantiallyjuxtaposed to said aperture extension, whereby assembly or disassemblyof said operating cam and plate may be effected, said flat main bodyportion having cam extension means for engagement with said cam-engagingmeans.

SIGURD BRANTINGSON.

